One of the oldest in the world, the Spanish national anthem was first printed in a document dated 1761 and entitledLibro de la Ordenanza de los Toques de Pífanos y Tambores que se tocan nuevamente en la Ynfantª Española (Book of the Ordinance of Newly Played MilitaryFife andDrum Calls by The Spanish Infantry), by Manuel de Espinosa. There, it is entitledLa Marcha Granadera (English:March of theGrenadiers). According to the document, Manuel de Espinosa de los Monteros is the composer.
There is a misconception that its author wasFrederick II of Prussia, a great lover of music. That mistaken belief arose in 1861 when it was published as fact in the periodicalLa España militar (Military Spain). In 1864, Col. Antonio Vallecillo published the story in the diaryEl Espíritu Público (The Public Spirit), claiming a supposed Prussian origin forMarcha Real. According to Vallecillo, the anthem was a gift from Frederick II to theCount of Colomera, who was serving in thePrussian Court to learn the military tactics developed by Frederick II's army, under orders of KingCharles III. In 1868, this spurious history was published inLos Sucesos, changing the beneficiary of the gift to theCount of Aranda. The myth was picked up in different publications of 1884 and 1903 until it was included in 1908 in theEnciclopedia Espasa.
In 1770, Charles III declared theMarcha de Granaderos the official Honor March, an act that formalized the tradition of playing it in public, especially on solemn occasions. It became the official Spanish anthem duringIsabel II's reign.
In 1870, after the1868 Revolution,General Juan Prim organized a national contest to create a new official state anthem, and a jury consisting of three well-known composers was chosen to designate a winning entry. Although over 400 compositions were submitted, including those written by the young composersFederico Chueca,Ruperto Chapí andTomás Bretón, a new anthem was never selected. After extensive deliberations, the jury had advised thatMarcha de Granaderos was already considered the country's official anthem, and the contest was suspended.[4] ByAlfonso XIII's time, the Royal Circular Order of 27 August 1908 established the musical score orchestrated by Bartolomé Pérez Casas, Superior musician of the Royal Corps of Halberdier Guards, as the official version; it is known traditionally as theGrenadier March or theRoyal Spanish March. During the SpanishSecond Republic theHimno de Riego was adopted as the anthem of the republic.[5]
The current symphonic version of theMarcha Real that replaced the Pérez Casas one was written by maestroFrancisco Grau and is the official one after the Royal Decree of 10 October 1997, when the Kingdom of Spain bought the author rights of theMarcha Real, then belonging to Pérez Casas's heirs. According to the Royal Decree 1560/1997, it should be in the key of B-flat major and a tempo of 76 bpm (♩=76), with a form of AABB and a duration of 52 seconds.
The current official version ofMarcha Real, as described in Royal Decree 1560/1997,[6] is a sixteen-bar long phrase, divided in two sections, each one is made up of four repeated bars (AABB form). Tempo is set to ♩= 76 and key to B-flat.
There are also three official arrangements: one for orchestra, another for military band, and a third for organ, written byFrancisco Grau and requested by theGovernment of Spain. All in all, there are six different official adaptations, for each arrangement and length. They all were recorded by theSpanish National Orchestra and theSpanish Royal Guard Band as an official recording and released oncompact disc for a limited period of time.
As the harmonisation ofMarcha Real was written by Pérez Casas in the early 20th century, the copyright has not yet expired. The government bought it from Pérez Casas' estate in 1997 for 130 millionpesetas (781,315.734euros) to avoid future legal problems.[7] Until it expires, the copyright belongs to theMinistry of Culture andcollecting societies charge copyright fees, which has led to criticism.[8]
As a result, many different harmonisations have been devised by performers to avoid paying. Nonetheless, the rights to the 1997Francisco Grau revision were transferred to the government at no charge, but they were not placed in thepublic domain.[9]
Though theMarcha Real has no official lyrics, words have been written and used for it in the past. One version was used duringAlfonso XIII's reign and another during theFrancoist State; however, none of them were ever made official. The national anthem has been played without words since 1978 when lyrics that had been approved byGeneral Francisco Franco were abandoned.[10] Occasionally the Francoist lyrics have been erroneously performed after their abandonment.[11]
After witnessing a rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" atAnfield in 2007, the President of theSpanish Olympic Committee (COE), Alejandro Blanco, said he felt inspired to seek lyrics toLa Marcha Real ahead ofMadrid's bid to host the2016 Olympic Games.[12][13][14] That same yearTelecinco, enticed by the COE, organized a national contest and posted 25 different lyrics on their website which they thought best matched COE's requirements. The winner was chosen, although only 40,000 people voted. The lyrics byEnrique Hernández-Luike, magazine publisher and poet, spoke of freedom, peace and the Constitution.[15] The winning lyrics were sung by the Ronda de Aranzueque choir in Pastrana, and filmed by German television.[16] However, the COE organized a new competition for the lyrics, which resulted in between 2,000 and 7,000 entries (depending on source). A private team of jurors chose the entry by Paulino Cubero, then unemployed.[17] The new lyrics received criticism, resulting in them being pulled only five days later, and the idea was scrapped indefinitely.[18]
These lyrics were written byEduardo Marquina (1879–1946) on the occasion of Alfonso XIII's silver wedding anniversary.[19] They were never made official.[3]
La bandera de España (Coro) Gloria, gloria, corona de la Patria, soberana luz que es oro en tu Pendón. Vida, vida, futuro de la Patria, que en tus ojos es abierto corazón...! Púrpura y oro: bandera inmortal; en tus colores, juntas, carne y alma están. Púrpura y oro: querer y lograr; Tú eres, bandera, el signo del humano afán.
España guiadora (Solo) ¡Pide, España! ¡Tu nombre llevaremos donde quieras tú; que honrarlo es nuestra ley! ¡Manda, España, y unidos lucharemos, porque vivas tú, sin tregua pueblo y rey! Una bandera gloriosa nos das; ¡nadie, viviendo, España, nos la arrancará! Para que, un día, nos pueda cubrir, ¡danos, España, el gozo de morir por ti!
¡Viva España!... (Coro) ¡Viva España! Del grito de la Patria, la explosión triunfal abrió camino al sol; ¡Viva España! repiten veinte pueblos y al hablar dan fe del ánimo español... ¡Marquen arado martillo y clarín su noble ritmo al grito de la Patria fe! ¡Guíe la mente a la mano hasta el fin, al "Viva España" asista toda España en pie!
Flag of Spain (Chorus) Glory, glory, crown of the Fatherland sovereign light which in your standard is gold. Life, life, future of the Fatherland, in your eyes it is an open heart Purple and gold: immortal flag; in your colors, together, flesh and soul are. Purple and gold: to want and to achieve; You are, flag, the sign of human effort.
Spain guiding (Solo) Ask of us, Spain! Your name we will take anywhere you want; because honoring it is our law! Command us, Spain, and united we will fight, so that you may live, relentless people and king! You give us a glorious flag; Nobody, who is alive, Spain, will take it from us! So that, one day, we can be covered by it, Give us, Spain, the joy of dying for you!
Long live Spain! ... (Chorus) Long live Spain! The cry of the Fatherland, the triumphant explosion Has opened the way to the sun; Long live Spain! repeated twenty peoples and when they speak they have faith in the Spanish will ... Mark plow hammer and bugle your noble rhythm at the cry of the Fatherland faith! Guide the mind and the hand until the end, the "Long Live Spain" Spain attends all standing!
Lyrics were adapted from an earlier version on 1928 written byJosé María Pemán (1897–1981) during the reign of Alfonso XIII and the government of Miguel Primo de Rivera.[21] The changes, made by Peman himself, intended to fit the symbols of the extremeright-wing ideology ofGeneral Francisco Franco, referred to asNational Catholicism, which were the "salute with the extended right arm" and the "yoke and arrows". The yoke and arrows were the appropriated symbol ofFalangism in Spain.
There were no singular official lyrics at the time,[3] though they became popular in certain contexts. In fact, the school textbook "Enciclopedia Álvarez" featured different lyrics that were taught to children.[22]
La Marcha Granadera ¡Viva España! Alzad los brazos, hijos del pueblo español, que vuelve a resurgir!
Gloria a la Patria, que supo seguir, sobre el azur del mar, el caminar del Sol.
¡Triunfa España! Los yunques y las ruedas cantan al compás del himno de la fe.
Juntos con ellos, cantemos de pie, la vida nueva y fuerte de trabajo y paz.
¡Viva España! Alzad los brazos hijos del pueblo español, que vuelve a resurgir!
Gloria a la patria, que supo seguir, sobre el azur del mar, el caminar del sol.
The Grenadier March Long live Spain! Raise your arms, children of the Spanish people, which rises again!
Glory to the Fatherland, who knew to follow, over the azure main, the path of the Sun.
Triumph Spain! The anvils and the wheels sing to the rhythm of the anthem of faith.
Together with them, we sing standing, the new and strong life of labor and peace.
Long live Spain! Raise your arms, children of the Spanish people, which rises again!
Glory to the Fatherland, who knew to follow, over the azure main, the path of the Sun.
The bugle callTo the Colors in Spain is the version played bybugle bands in Spanish churches on religious occasions and processions organized by civil groups and the parishes. Various versions adapted for the drum and the bugle are used, even though brass instruments play the anthem as well. But in some bugle bands, the A flat version of the anthem (the old official one, adapted for the bugle) is played. Only a bugle call is sounded when the B flat version is played.
Being the national anthem, and played in honor of the King and the Queen of Spain, it is common for all to stand once it is played. Even though it is also played in church events, respect for the royal family is required by everyone in attendance; civilians stand at attention, and those in uniform salute when not in formation.
UNANU – TheUnion Nacional de Antiguos Oficiales y Suboficiales de las Milicias Universitarias has a website about the anthem, with a complete instrumental version. Archived fromthe original on 22 October 2004.
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